Philippines military pounds positions of Daesh affiliate group in south

Philippine troops fire 105mm howitzer cannons toward militant positions from their base near the town of Butig in Lanao del Sur Province on the southern island of Mindanao, the Philippines, November 27, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

The military in the Philippines has shelled the positions of a terrorist group affiliated to Daesh in the south of the country, killing and wounding a number of combatants.

Intelligence showed that 11 militants were killed and five were wounded in the Sunday shelling, said Brigadier General Restituto Padilla, a spokesman for the Philippines’ armed forces.

The bodies of the slain members of the militant group, named Maute, had not yet been recovered, he said.

Clashes began between the army forces and Maute militants, which have sworn allegiance to the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group on Saturday.

Padilla said that two soldiers had been wounded in the clashes.

During previous clashes with troops, Maute militants had been seen carrying black Daesh flags and bandannas bearing the militants’ insignia were found in a militant base, the military said.

The army deployed reinforcements to the region to dislodge the Maute militants, who had occupied the town hall and other building in the town of Butig on the restive Mindanao Island.

Many residents of Butig, a town of 17,000 people, fled after the town hall was occupied by the militants.

Philippine troops fire 105mm howitzer cannons toward militant positions from their base near the town of Butig in Lanao del Sur Province on the southern island of Mindanao, the Philippines, November 27, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Three members of the Maute group were arrested last month and were accused of a bombing attack in September that left 15 people dead in Davao, President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown and Mindanao’s largest city.

Government forces captured a Maute training camp in the town in June after a 10-day battle that left four soldiers and dozens of militants dead, according to the army.

“They (the militants) have long been professing allegiance to the foreign terror group,” said another military spokesman, Colonel Edgard Arevalo, in a statement referring to Daesh. “This is still part of the Maute group’s agenda in courting support and encouraging similar-minded individuals to support ISIS,” he added, using an English acronym for Daesh.

The Takfiri terrorist group is mainly active in the Middle East and to a much lesser extent in North Africa.